I like capitalism but I love breastfeeding more

Scientific evidence tells us that ‘breast is best’. A large portion of medical literature and studies are aimed at proving the benefits of breastfeeding for both mom and baby.

• Scientists at Durham University recently released study findings that conclude that the longer the pregnancy and breastfeeding period in mammals, the bigger the baby’s brain grows. These findings further reinforce the suggestion that breast feeding is best for brain development. (1)

• A recent study conducted by The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that “mothers who feed their babies breast milk exclusively, as opposed to formula, are more likely to bond emotionally with their child during the first few months after delivery. The breastfeeding mothers surveyed for the study showed greater responses to their infant’s cry in brain regions related to caregiving behavior and empathy than mothers who relied upon formula as the baby’s main food source.” (2)

• Research published online July 21, 2011 in the European Respiratory Journal suggests that “feeding a baby on only breast milk and for up to 6 months after birth can reduce their risk of developing asthma-related symptoms in early childhood”. (3)

• Research conducted by Oxford University and the Institute for Social and Economic Research, Essex University, found that breastfed children perform better in school. “Test scores in reading, writing and mathematics for the children at ages five, seven, 11 and 14 revealed a statistically significant difference between those who had been breastfed as compared with those who had not.” (4)

And yet despite what these scientific findings tell society, breastfeeding rates remain dismally low across the industrialized world. According to the 2010 Breastfeeding Report Card conducted by the US CDC the most recent data shows that 3 out of 4 new mothers start out breastfeeding. However, by 3 months postpartum the percentage of babies still being exclusively breastfed is 33% and by 6 months the percentage is a mere 13.3%. (5)

Dr. Lawrence Gartner, MD, FAAP is a respected medical authority on infant feeding who has played a role in drafting policy statements for the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Sure, you can speak of the benefits of breast-feeding,” explains Dr. Gartner. “But it’s really just as accurate — maybe more accurate — to speak of the risks of formula-feeding. Unfortunately, the large volume of medical literature we now have that demonstrates this is written from the perspective of proving the ‘advantages’ of breast-feeding — as if formula-feeding were the gold standard. But when you read the literature the other way around — as it should be read, really — the results are rather startling.” (6)

So why does it seem that formula feeding is today’s gold standard, rather than a subpar alternative to breastfeeding? Essentially, no one stands to make a profit from breastfeeding. For the most part the richest gains from a well-established breastfeeding relationship belong to mom and her babe and they cannot be counted in financial terms.

In our society, it is money that talks. In 2007 the US infant formula market was estimated at $3.9 billion. The reality is formula companies have the power and money to advertise and market their product and they do so relentlessly. They give out material packs to women prenatally, in the hospital, and throughout a baby’s first year. While these packs may pay lip service to the ‘breast is best’ adage, they typically contain free samples and coupons. Advertisements on television and in parenting magazines contain pictures of cherub looking babies smiling or happily drink down bottles of formula.

This aggressive marketing campaign is conducted in clear violation of The International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes. The code was set out by the WHO and UNICEF in 1981 in order to “protect and promote breastfeeding, through the provision of adequate information on appropriate infant feeding and the regulation of the marketing of breast milk substitutes, bottles and teats. The Code prohibits the advertisement or promotion of these products to the general public or through the health care system.” (7)

One cannot underestimate the influence that this marketing by formula companies has on mothers. A study conducted by the Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine concluded that “although breast-feeding initiation and long-term duration were not affected, exposure to formula promotion materials increased significantly breast-feeding cessation in the first 2 weeks. Additionally, among women with uncertain goals or breast-feeding goals of 12 weeks or less, exclusive, full, and overall breast-feeding duration were shortened. Educational materials about infant feeding should support unequivocally breast-feeding as optimal nutrition for infants; formula promotion products should be eliminated from prenatal settings.” (8)

And if it isn’t distressing enough that artificial feeding has become normalized in rich, Western societies to the detriment of the health of moms and babies, formula companies also market their products in poorer regions of the world where the choice between breast and bottle can literally be the choice between life and death of a child. Driven by profits they target countries with high birth rates and disrupt existing breastfeeding cultures through unethical methods of promoting their products, such as free samples for local hospitals and offers of gifts and sponsorship to influence health workers. The potential implications of this disruption, particularly in countries where there isn’t access to clean, safe drinking water is breath-taking. Even in America where the drinking water is relatively safe infant death due to complications from diarrhea is half as likely to happen in a breastfed infant as it is in its formula fed counterpart. (9) Furthermore, an artificially fed child in an impoverished country is also in exponentially greater danger of dying due to other factors such as poor sanitation conditions, limited access to healthcare services, illiterate parents making errors in the mixing of infant formula which may or may not have not been labeled clearly by the formula company in the first place, and severely limited financial resources which leads to parents intentionally “water” down the powdered milk in order to make it last longer. (10)

The bottom line is that formula companies benefit when women find breastfeeding difficult. Breast is certainly best, except for formula companies.

My little guy enjoying some good stuff on our holiday in Israel

(1)Durham University (2011, March 30). Mothers’ hard work pays off with big brains for their babies. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 25, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2011/03/110328151730.htm
(2)Wiley-Blackwell (2011, April 21). Breastfeeding tied to stronger maternal response to baby’s cry. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 25, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2011/04/110420111334.htm
(3)European Lung Foundation (2011, July 22). Breastfeeding may prevent asthma, research suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 25, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2011/07/110721212452.htm
(4)University of Oxford (2011, March 17). Breastfed children do better at school, study suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 25, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2011/03/110317141143.htm
(5)United States Center for Disease Control (2010). Breastfeeding Report Card –– United States, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2011, fromhttp://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/pdf/BreastfeedingReportCard2010.pdf
(6)Salon Magazine (July 19, 1999). Formula for Disaster. Retrieved September 25, 2011, fromhttp://www.salon.com/life/feature/1999/07/19/formula/index.html
(7)UNICEF (1981). The International Code. Retrieved September 25, 2011, fromhttp://www.unicef.org/programme/breastfeeding/code.htm
(8)Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine, New York, USA (2000). Office prenatal formula advertising and its effect on breast-feeding patterns. Retrieved September 25, 2011, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10674597
(9)Briar Patch Magazine (September 1, 2011), From apple pie and mother’s milk to pop-tarts and formula
How will we feed the next generation?, Retrieved September 30, 2011, fromhttp://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/from-apple-pie-and-mothers-milk-to-pop-tarts-and-formula
(10) Palmer, Gabrielle. The Politics of Breastfeeding. Pinter and Martin 2009.